Media Ownership in the Digital Age: An Economic Perspective

Abstract

The restrictions on ownership in the Australian broadcasting legislation reflect the recognition that the media industries are more than mere producers of consumer goods and services; instead, the nature of their output gives them a more fundamental influence on society. It is claimed by some that the arrival of the new media technologies, especially digitalisation and the Internet, has undermined the rationale for the current restrictions on media ownership. This claim is based on the assumption that the new technologies will bring about a significant increase in the number of media outlets, and that the restrictions established for the ‘old’ media will become unnecessary, ineffective and/or irrelevant. This paper points out, however, that there are divergent views concerning the implications of the new technologies for the structure and ownership of the media, and that it would be premature to remove restrictions on media ownership. In the short term at least, any liberalisation of the concentration or cross-media restrictions is more likely to bring about greater ownership consolidation with adverse consequences for media diversity and the health of democracy in Australia.